1879–1976 The provinces were created in 1879 by the Spanish colonial government. From 1879 to 1976, Cuba was divided into six provinces, which maintained with little changes the same boundaries and capital cities, although with modifications in official names. These "historical" provinces are the following (from west to east): • Pinar del Río • La Habana, included the city of
Havana, current
Mayabeque, some municipalities of current
Artemisa Province (prior to 1970: 5 municipalities; from 1970 to 2011, 8 municipalities, including
Artemisa city itself).
Isla de Pinos ("Isle of Pines") was considered a "special municipality" in the province of La Habana. • Matanzas • Las Villas (before 1940 named "
Santa Clara"), contained the present-day provinces of
Cienfuegos,
Villa Clara,
Sancti Spíritus, and Southern
Matanzas Province. • Camagüey (before 1899 named "Puerto Príncipe"), contained the present-day provinces of
Camagüey and
Ciego de Ávila, as well as two municipalities of current
Las Tunas Province (prior to 1970). •
Oriente (before 1905 named "Santiago de Cuba"), contained the present-day provinces of
Las Tunas,
Granma,
Holguín,
Santiago de Cuba and
Guantánamo 1976–2011 In December 1976, the original six provinces were reconstituted into 14 provinces plus one special municipality: •
Pinar del Río •
La Habana •
Ciudad de La Habana •
Matanzas •
Cienfuegos •
Villa Clara •
Sancti Spíritus •
Ciego de Ávila •
Camagüey •
Las Tunas •
Granma •
Holguín •
Santiago de Cuba •
Guantánamo •
Isla de Pinos ("special municipality") Isla de Pinos was renamed
Isla de la Juventud on 3 August 1978.
2011–present In August 2010, the
Cuban National Assembly split the
then-La Habana Province into two new provinces:
Artemisa (which incorporated three eastern municipalities of neighboring
Pinar del Río) and
Mayabeque. The new provinces started functioning from 1 January 2011. Havana City Province (
Ciudad de La Habana Province) recovered its original name,
La Habana Province. == Presidents of the People's Power Provincial Councils ==